TipSheet: Travis County, 4.25.2017

The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office posts a copy at its website.

7. Consider and take appropriate action on request from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office regarding proposed increases in towing fees. (Commissioner Daugherty)

Monitor’s Take: The court is about to give you some enhanced incentive to keep your vehicles off of public rights-of-way. It has been five years since the county last set its towing fees with the Austin Towing Association. Now, Sheriff Sally Hernandez is proposing to increase the fees for most tows from $175 to $275. This is why we mostly bike.

17. Approve reimbursement for the County’s portion to the City of Pflugerville for Rowe Lane Roadway Improvements costs and include a construction contingency amount of 5%. (Commissioner Travillion)

Monitor’s Take: Speaking of the costs of driving, this here item would send $1,405,093.49 up to Pflugerville to cover that city’s work to improve Rowe Lane, a fairly large arterial on the outskirts of town. It would also set aside $70,000 just as a contingency in case costs creep higher. The work doesn’t increase the number of lanes, but it will widen them. Luxurious!

23. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the closure of the following roads located in Precinct Four: a. Timber Creek Flood Buy-out Project: Benson Way, Foxhead Drive, and Timber Creek Drive east of the intersection with Benson Way b. Thoroughbred Farms Flood Buy-out Project: Citation Avenue east of the intersection with Ponder Lane (Public Hearing 2) (Commissioner Gómez)

Monitor’s Take: As flood buy-outs continue apace, so does the shuttering of former neighborhood streets. The latest on the chopping block are in Southeast Travis County, an area particularly hard hit by floods in recent years.

30. Receive update on Travis County #StrongerTogether. (Judge Eckhardt)

Monitor’s Take: Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to cut millions in grant funding to Travis County has been overtaken by subsequent news cycles and other stories from the Legislature, but the hole is still there for the county to try to fill. As of the last update on March 28, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez’s #StrongerTogether campaign has raised $135,937, a number that could very well be higher when the court hears the latest news on Tuesday. Of course, it might still fall somewhere short of the millions needed to sustain justice programs such as the Veterans Court. We’ll just have to wait and see!

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